4/4/2005: History in the making
The procession carrying Pope John Paul II's body from the Apostolic Palace, through the great plaza, and into St. Peter's Basilica this morning was something. Whether you're religious or not, the pageantry and sheer human history that came to us live from the Vatican was awe-inspiring and moving.
Keyhole view of St. Peters Square
To get a sense of the history involved here: consider that these uniforms the Swiss Guard are wearing were designed by Michelangelo.
The funeral will be Friday - Charles & Camilla even changed their much-publicized wedding date to avoid scheduling conflicts for world leaders attending both. They're talking about millions of people coming to Rome, and over 100 heads of state will attend the event. It's a sad sign of our times that security has to be a huge concern for that. It takes years for cities to plan Olympics security - and still there are breaches - what kind of bait is 100 world leaders in one place to wackos and/or terrorist types?
I had CBS on for most of this morning's events, and they made the most ridiculous blunder during their coverage. As the Pope's body was being laid in state, the cardinals and choirs were chanting (beautifully) and the centuries-old rituals were playing out one by one.. CBS opted for dual coverage to also show us President Bush welcoming Viktor Yushchenko and his wife to the USA - with split screen and dual audio! I was working on something else and looked up to see what the heck was going on.. how freaking bizarre was it to have "W" chatting about visiting Keev with psalms and litanies chanting along like backup singers! Sheesh CBS, get your act together and make a decision.
